The AppAdvice tech week in review: A new Apple iPhone is set to launch

A spring thaw

For the first time in history, Apple is prepping to announce a new iPhone and iPad at a springtime event. Both the “iPhone SE” and “9.7-inch iPad Pro” should launch on March 21.

For more on the event see:

• What to expect at Apple’s ‘Let us loop you in’March 21 media event
• What to expect in Apple’s ‘iOS 10’
• The Justice Department hits back at Apple in a new filing

President Obama wants our iPhones unlocked

At South by Southwest Interactive, President Obama weighed in on the growing battle between Apple and the FBI over mobile device encryption.

Obama warned against technology companies taking an “absolutist view” on encryption, and he encouraged Apple not to wait for Congress to pass a new law before creating an iOS backdoor.

For now, Apple isn’t budging. There is a federal court hearing in the case on March 22.

See also:

• Ed Snowden says FBI doesn’t need Apple to unlock the iPhone
• Steve Wozniak calls the San Bernadino iPhone battle ‘lame’

The epic battle between plants and zombies is continuing. EA announced that a brand new game, Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, will arrive on the App Store worldwide soon. It’s already been soft-launched in New Zealand.

Described as a collectible card game, similarities to the popular Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft are obvious. And in an interview with VentureBeat, EA’s Brian Lindley said the title was an inspiration:

“We took inspiration from other CCGs out there, and some of the team worked on Magic: The Gathering in the past,” Lindley said. “Hearthstone is both inspiration and competition. They took the genre in a good direction.”

The game will feature more than 300 different characters from the universe. A new offering will be Super Hero Plants and Zombies. For example, The Green Shadow is a hero that can take out zombies with her precision blast. And on the flip side, the Zombie Imp Hero can create multiple clones during battle.

Other apps and games making news:

• Bizarre App of the Week: Voodoo Doll of My Ex
• Create your own version of Arendelle in Disney Build It: Frozen
• Make texts quicker by sending Cola Bubbles instead

This week’s reviews feature a popular iPad and Mac writing app that is now available on iPhone, plus a new Wikipedia app:

• Solve puzzles and make a colorful mess in the charming Telepaint
• Go against conformity in the puzzles of Dream Machine : The Game
• Pilots of the Dawn is like Luftrausers but for iOS
• Disentangle and sort the microverse in Dirac, an intense puzzler
• Ulysses, a must-have tool for writers, is now on iPhone
• Viki is the most beautiful way to get Wikipedia on iOS
• Focus on one task at a time with Doo – Get Things Done

The interesting Withings Home camera is getting even more useful thanks to a new partnership with IFTTT.

If you’re not familiar with IFTTT, also known as “If This, Then That,” you should be. It can be used to create a bridge between the growing number of smart home products and services.

Here are a few examples:

Reinforce privacy: Turn off Withings Home automatically when I’m home, turn it back on when I’m away using geolocation from my phone.

Make security seamless: When I lock my door with my SmartThings door lock, my Withings Home will turn on. When there is a motion or noise alert, my Philips Hue lights will blink.

Improve home health: When bad air quality is detected, it will turn on my WeMo air purifier automatically or change the color of my Philips Hue light to red.

Other accessory news:

• Incipio unveils a new HomeKit-enabled smart outlet and light bulb adapter
• 7 great charging stands for your Apple Watch